


now she lost her way, and she forgets to smile, never gets a break, from this life in denial

by atimeforflores



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond
Genre: Damian does things out of spite, Gen, based off that one universe where Damian saves a jokerized baby Terry, big brother damian, like steals his own brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-12 13:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19133059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atimeforflores/pseuds/atimeforflores
Summary: That left Damian with the only option of having to prove himself, having to sneak out and find a group to infiltrate and take down from the inside.





	now she lost her way, and she forgets to smile, never gets a break, from this life in denial

Damian heard the whispers of something going down while he was undercover. Well, he wasn’t necessarily “undercover” but he also wasn’t wearing his Robin costume and had disguised himself to not look like rich kid, Damian Wayne. No one had given him a second glance since he put on the too baggy clothes he liberated from Todd’s laundry hamper. Damian had a sickening realization that the pit stains and oil stains probably meant that he had not picked from the clean hamper. Or that Todd had once again mixed up his own hampers. 

 

Father had accused Damian of being to brash and not able to keep his ear to the ground when it counted. Damian had taken Alfred’s previous chastise of not even leaving a body dummy to heart and had spent a solid 30 minutes adjusting the extra blanket rolls and wig to perfection. If Alfred or Father peeked in, they would hopefully also be lulled into a false sense of security by the recording of sleep sounds Damian had started playing before he left. Hopefully Father would not know the difference between Damian’s usual snores and Tim’s sleep that Damian had... _ encouraged  _ with a few capsules of Benadryl. 

 

That left Damian with the only option of having to prove himself, having to sneak out and find a group to infiltrate and take down from the inside. 

 

The stirrings of the underbelly of Gotham led Damian to the underground market taking place two blocks from Crime Alley in the underground catacombs that used to belong to the Court of Owls. There was some sort of auction taking place, at least that was what Damian had assumed from the murmurings he overheard. Mostly objects if Damian had heard correctly, but there were even more subtle whispers of a live subject being sold. Those were the whispers that had drawn Damian to the abandoned warehouse entrance, being patted down by at least three grunts before he was allowed entrance to the venue.

 

If the guards of the place thought it was weird to see a child enter alone, they didn’t show it. From the stories Damian had been subjected to by a slightly inebriated Todd, Damian was sure the men had seen their fair share of children doing someone else’s dirty work. 

 

Damian was able to let himself get lost amongst the crowd, hiding in coattails and overly large dresses to make his way towards the back of the building where the products were kept away from the crowd. 

 

Damian was unimpressed by the way he was easily able to sneak into the supposedly hidden alcove of treasures. Sure, the suppliers hadn’t planned for a ten year old trained to be an assassin from birth to slink in and steal their prime real estate, but really, they should have. 

 

Damian tucked the basket under his arm, not stopping to check its contents as alarms blared and his window for escape began to close. 

 

So maybe Damian wasn’t able to stay concealed for very long, but he would prove to Father that he could get the job done. As was evidenced by the…

 

By the…

 

Baby? 

 

A Jokerized Baby staring back at Damian from its place nestled in the gothic basket that Damian had snatched from the warehouse. 

 

Damian didn’t have time to stop and stare at the child in horror as he felt his pursuers on his tail, even as the child’s haunting laugh echoed throughout the alleyways that Damian lost those tracking him. Even as the gruesome giggles pulsated through out Damian’s entire being. 

 

…

 

Damian had ducked into the sewers somewhere between Main and Fifth, sure that his pursuers wouldn’t follow him. He was right in the fact that they didn’t enter the sewers themselves but he could still feel their eyes on him. 

 

Damian wasn’t sure if it was the remnants of the Court of Owls that still haunted Gotham or Damian’s own mind playing tricks on him that made him feel like he needed to itch through his own skin, his mind swimming with panic as he got closer and closer to the Batcave. All the while the baby continued to giggle, echoing throughout the chambers of the underground. 

 

Halfway through the tunnels, Damian ditched the basket and tied the baby to himself with his cape. Damian had thought that maybe it would have helped him feel less anxious, but the contact just made him worse. The fumes seemed to waft off the infant, Damian’s instability getting worse with each of the child’s bleach white hands to Damian’s person. 

 

Damian broke out in a cold sweat, breaths coming in wheezy and strained as he closed in on the entrance. As expected, Alfred was standing in front of the entrance, shotgun cocked and ready to fire. 

 

“ _ Pennyworth _ !” Damian hissed, dropping to his knees, clawing his way to the front. Alfred’s grip on the rifle slackened, taking in Damian’s disheveled state. The weapon dropped totally out of his grip when the baby began to giggle again. 

 

…

 

Damian didn’t remember his Father moving him from the disgusting steps of the sewer to the bed in the infirmary. He woke up to his Father slouched over his bed, Damian’s small hand engulfed in Bruce’s large ones. Father was asleep, snores filling the infirmary. 

 

“Master Damian.” Alfred called, stepping into view with a slightly more normal looking infant. Damian could tell it was the same one as before, the features the same, if less gruesome. 

 

The child caught Damian’s gaze, staring at him with intense blue eyes. He gave Damian a crooked smile, popping a dimple at Damian. Damian braced himself for the signature giggle but none came, and the infant stayed human. 

 

“You did good.” Alfred told him, laying the infant down on Damian’s cot. Damian watched with rapt attention at the child started to climb up his chest, reaching for him with tiny fingers. 

 

“Who is he?” Damian asked, “Why is he so important?”

 

Alfred smiled, wiping Father’s bangs out of his face, “This is Master Terrance.”

 

“Your brother.” Father finished, gazing upon his two youngest sons with affection. 

**Author's Note:**

> this is just for funsies
> 
> comments make me write more
> 
> tumblr is gaysupersoldiers


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